IMPORTANT REPORTS FROM INSPECTORS AND CORRE

SPONDENTS.

OUTBREAK OF A CUTANEOUS DISEASE AMONG CATTLE.

In the latter part of August and early in September, 1889, a cutaneous disease appeared among cattle in many localities not very remote from Washington. Soon thereafter the Bureau of Animal Industry was in receipt of letters from many correspondents in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, all giving information as to the outbreak, and each agreeing as to the most prominent symptoms of the disease. Among others asking advice and assistance were the following-named gentlemen: Joseph B. Metcalfe, Prince William County, Va.; G. G. Gregg, Round Hill, Va.; J. S. Ware and H. L. D. Lewis, Berryville, Va.; Thomas W. Timberlake, Milldale, Va.; George W. Halmer, Woodburn, Va.; A. B. Shreve, Shelton Hall, Loudoun County, Va.; George H. Carter, Stephens City, Va.; D. G. Mead, The Plains, Va.; Isaac C. Hoge, Hamilton, Va.; Thomas H. Simonds, Drum Point, Md.; Henry Macald and C. C. Halloway, Pylesville, Harford County, Md.; William Shallcross, A. L. Quillan, C. W. Wharton, George B. Taylor, William M. Frazier, F. Hopkins, C. Rogers, Benjamin Hudson, and John Frazier, Kent County, Del.; Peter K. Mossburg, Lucian Walters, Thomas D. Darby, E. James, W. L. Dearborough, Montgomery County, Md.: William J. Greyson and William G. Lee, Cecil County, Md.; J. M. Severson, Kent County, Md.; and Dr. W. W. Brown, Kabletown, W. Va.

Veterinary inspectors of the Bureau were directed to visit many of the localities indicated by the above-named correspondents, for the purpose of determining the nature and cause of the disease, and if found to be of a contagious character to give such advice as would prevent its further extension. On the 4th of September, Dr. W. H. Wray forwarded the following report of the results of his investigations of two different outbreaks of the disease:

In accordance with your orders of August 22, 1889, I proceeded forthwith to Catharpin and Round Hill, Va., for the purpose of investigating a reported outbreak of disease in cattle at those places. On the 23d of August, I visited the herd of J. B. Metcalfe, at Catharpin, Prince William County, Va., where I found 6 steers, 2 cows, and 1 heifer in the following condition: No. 1, a red and white steer, with dry, ulcerated condition of the nose and cleft of the left fore foot (recovering). No. 2, red roan steer, ulcers on the nose and cleft of the left fore foot. No. 3, a spotted steer, large patches of skin on the sides, flanks, and hips dry, cracked, ulcerated, and sloughing off. No. 4, a red and white cow, ulcers of the nose, ankles, fetlocks, and udder; teats of dark purple color, dry and cracked; the skin across the hips has sloughed off, leaving a cicatrix resembling a burn. No. 5,

a brown and white steer, cicatricial tissue on pad' of the nose. No. 6, a red steer, ulcerated nose, congested conjunctiva, and serous discharge from the eyes. No. 7. a red and white steer, cicatrice on the nose, skin on the right shoulder dry and cracked. No. 8, a black and white heifer, ulcer on the nose, conjunctiva of both eyes congested, large patches of skin and cellular tissue from the ankles and fetlocks (left side) sloughing off, with large ulcers on the right thigh and hock. The ulcers were very foetid and full of maggots; temperature 101 F. No. 9, a red cow, convalescent.

The history of this outbreak is as follows: On August 11, 2 steers and 1 cow were noticed to be acting dull and stupid. One of the steers had both hind and one fore leg slightly swollen, with small swellings along the abdomen. The other steer had large ulcers and sloughing of the skin and flesh from the nose, flanks, and feet; ulcers very fœtid and full of maggots. This animal died on August 21. The cow is convalescent. The balance of the herd was found affected with a serous discharge from the nose and eyes and sore feet on August 12. All the above-mentioned animals have been running together in the same inclosure. There are six head in an adjoining field that have not been affected. The animals in both fields drink from the same stream, the healthy ones up stream from the sick. While at Mr. Metcalfe's I heard that a neighbor named H. F. Lynn, who lived one-half mile distant, had some cows. I went there after finishing at Mr. Metcalfe's and found 11 head, 9 in one field, affected as follows: No. 1, a red cow, with small ulcers on the nostrils, teats purple and cracked. No. 2, a red roan cow, small ulcers on the nose, conjunctiva congested, teats purple in color and cracked. No. 3, a red cow, small ulcer on the nostrils. No. 4, a roan cow, a small ulcer on the pad of the nose. The remainder were in good health. The history of this outbreak was thus given: Mr. Lynn first noticed the red cow running at the nose and eyes on the 15th of August. As soon as the ulcers began to form the owner commenced greasing the parts with carbolized vasaline. The animals on this place have, so far, been affected in a very mild form. I left Catharpin that evening for Round Hill, Va., arriving there the same night. Here I at once hunted up Mr. G. G. Gregg and made arrangements for a visit to his herd in the morning. On the 24th of August, in company with Mr. Gregg, I drove to his farm 3 miles from town, where I found 15 head of steers and heifers, 9 of which were affected in different stages the same as those at Catharpin. There had been no deaths, and all are recovering. Cattle in adjoining field not affected. I was informed by Mr. Gregg that Mr. Nichols, who lived at Purcellville, 2 miles distant, had a number of sick cows. On going there I found 15 cows, 5 of which were affected in a very mild form, the same as those at Catharpin and Round Hill. Five had recovered and 5 had escaped entirely. Cattle in the next field were not affected. Although the majority, and in some instances all the cattle in one field, will be attacked, the disease does not seem to be of a contagious character, as it does not spread beyond the field where it originates. In cases where the nose is affected, the pad will assume a purple color; in two or three days the discolored portion will become dry, crack, and slough off, with superficial ulcerations around the nostrils. In those that are affected on the body and legs the skin over different sized areas will become dry. In a few days cracks will form across the dried surfaces in all directions. These cracks extend completely through the skin, and in aggravated cases quite deeply into the cellular tissue. The cracking is followed by an ichorous exudation and sloughing of the skin and cellular tissue. The areas affected vary in size from a silver dollar to 3 feet in circumference. In those that have the teats affected the udder appears to be healthy. The teats will assume a purple color, dry and crack; the epidermis will peel off, leaving them very sore and difficult to milk. There are no constitutional symptoms, as the pulse, respirations, and temperature are normal. In the worst cases I only found a temperature of 102° F. The animals do not cease ruminating. As the ulcerations and desquamations do not resemble any heretofore described skin affection that I am able to find in human veterinary literature, for the want of a better name I have designated the malady desquamative dermatitis.

On July 25, in company with Drs. Armstrong and Clement, I visited the herd of J. F. Bohanon, at Millstone Landing, Md. We found three cows suffering with the same malady as described above. As one was very sick we purchased her, made a post-mortem examination and found all the internal organs healthy. Since then there have been outbreaks of the same malady in Worcester, Dorchester, and Frederick Counties, Md. I have seen about 150 cases during the past two months, and have heard of only two deaths. It is a question whether these died of the disease mentioned. I have put the affected animals under mineral tonics internally, with carbolized ointments externally, with good results.

On the 15th of October, 1889, Dr. W. H. Rose, veterinary inspector at Philadelphia, Pa., made the following report of an examination of cattle suffering with the disease in Delaware County, Pa.:

I visited Media, Pa., to-day, to investigate the reported outbreaks of so-called epizootic aphtha in this section of Delaware County. I saw Dr. Webster at Media, who claims to have treated 20 herds of cattle affected with the disease, numbering in all 120 animals. He describes the local lesions as being characteristic of said disease. All of his cases recovered. Dr. Huidekoper visited this place a short time ago and pronounced the disease eczema epizootica, as seen in Europe. I have no evidence on hand at this date to form an opinion, and I write you these lines in order to receive your instructions before I make a further search into the matter. I am told that this trouble has existed in Montgomery and Berks counties for the past four or five weeks.

On the 19th of October Dr. Rose made the following report:

Your letter of instructions of the 18th instant was duly received. Will endeavor to find cases of recent development of cattle disease. I am sorry to have you confine my researches in Delaware County alone, for the same trouble has existed in Berks and Montgomery counties. The trouble has subsided to a great extent, especially in Delaware County.

I saw Dr. Thomas Young at Media, yesterday afternoon, who claims to have had about 80 cases in 30 different herds of cattle. Dr. Young says that "mouth lesions were absent in his cases when the feet were affected."

The trouble seems to have been of an endemic nature, for the disease existed in all parts of the county at the same time. I can find no traces of its origin, and there seems to be no visible source of contagion. In some herds only one animal was affected, and in several instances individual herds remained exempt from the trouble while herds on both sides of adjoining farms were affected. Sheep and swine remained insusceptible on the premises where cattle were affected.

The mortality has been very slight and recovery rapid in most instances. Abortion among pregnant animals has been rare. The treatment has been local in most

cases.

Dr. Webster used a lotion composed of zinc, iodine, myrrh, and aloes, without internal treatment, and lost no cases.

Dr. Young used sulphur internally and lost no cases. Some of them, however, had extensive sloughing of tongue and extremities, exposing the ligaments of joints and muscular portion of tongues.

Dr. Huidekoper used saliva from an affected cow upon the mucous membrane of 2 healthy pigs at the University Veterinary Hospital, but produced no lesions in either pig after one week's experiment. Both pigs, however, had variable temperature (internally), ranging from 99° to 103° F.

There has been no shipment of imported cattle to any part of this country where the trouble existed. No sheep or swine were affected, and the disease existed in some herds of cattle where no sheep were kept on the premises.

Dr. F. W. Patterson, an inspector for Maryland, gives the following results of an examination made on October 20:

A letter from John T. Nelson, Black Horse, Harford County, Md., caused me to visit his farm to-day. I found on his place 15 head of cattle, viz, 12 cows, 1 bull, and 2 calves. Of these 11 were sick. One cow heavy with calf, the bull, and two calves seemed to be in health.

These cattle have been in good health all summer, the cows giving milk. On last Tuesday, the 15th instant, Mr. Nelson discovered that eleven cows were sick, though some three or four days before he had noticed some pimples on several of the cows' teats, which, when broken, discharged a thin, yellowish fluid. The eleven cows were attacked almost simultaneously. They commenced licking their teats and udders and were almost constantly thus employed. The skin on the teats turned almost black and became dry and hard. It soon cracked open and is now peeling off. The inflammation extended to the udders, small pustules covering their whole surface, and now the skin is dry, hard, and cracked. The flow of milk is nearly suppressed. The nose in almost every case was ulcerated on the pad and usually extending some inches above it. The skin on the pad was cracked open and peeling off, leaving an ulcerated surface red and with a yellowish discharge from the ulcers. There were small ulcers on the gums. In some cases small pustules were found along the neck to the shoulder, and in one case they were all over the back, and in another all over the belly.

In all the cases there was much discharge from the eyes. The veins in the conjunctiva and sclerotic much injected with blood and the lids and eyes of a dark brown color. The skin around the eyes was peeling off. In nearly every case the external vulva was ulcerated, dry, hard, cracked, and peeling off, leaving the surface raw and angry looking, as is the case with the pad of the nose and the teats. In some cases I saw the cow place her nose upon a cold stone and hold it there as if seeking relief from heat or itching. I saw them also, when licking the teats, take hold of them and bite them as though they would tear them off, and Mr. Nelson kept one or two in stalls to keep them from injuring themselves.

At this date there did not seem to be much fever. The highest temperature was 103, and that only in one case.

I have described these eleven cows as one, for they were affected so nearly alike that it is not worth while to give a description separately.

For some time before, and at the time of taking sick, they were in a meadow pasture field, mowed this year. The ground is very high and dry and supplied with good spring water. When they were taken sick the owner feared that perhaps something in the field had poisoned them, and they were put in a wheat stubble field where young clover was very rank. This clover caused active movements of the bowels. Some common "mill feed" has been used all along.

Inquiry failed to find any other cases in this part of the country. Mr. John R. Jackson, living about 2 miles from there, about four weeks ago bought a lot of steers at Stewartstown, Pa. (said to have come from Ohio), and on getting them home they were nearly all seen to have sore noses, with the skin on the pad cracked and peeling off, leaving a raw, sore surface. These steers all got well.

This is all that I could learn. This disease is, to me, a new one, and this is the first that has appeared in this part of the State.

Several additional reports were received in October from Dr. W. H. Rose, relating to outbreaks in Pennsylvania. The first bears date of October 22, 1889, and is as follows:

I obtained the following information from Mr. Rhoades in answer to many questions. He fed the milk of affected cows to his pigs, and they remained in good health. The calves of affected cows, fed from their teats, failed to develop the disease. His family used the milk from these cows before Dr. Webster's first visit and they have suffered no illness. Then, too, Mr. Rhoades's herd got among Samuel Pancoast's (a neighbor's) herd, when the former herd was sick, and no evidence of the same trouble has shown itself in Pancoast's herd.

Mr. Rhoades has a low, swamp pasture field, and Mr. Pancoast's is high and free from mud pools.

Rhoades', Hugh's and Keady's herds are 2 miles at least from each other, and they have never been together.

The following report from the same inspector bears date of October 24:

I saw Dr. Broadhead at Media, Delaware County, Pa., to-day, and he claims to have treated about thirty cases of what he calls sporadic aphtha. He had no cases with feet affected, and all of them have recovered. Some of the herds of cattle numbered 40 and 50 head each, and 4 head was the greatest number affected in any herd that he treated. I can not find any cases in this section of Delaware County at the present time, for the trouble seems to have subsided since we have had a few pleasant days. Inclement weather has again set in, however, and if it continues any length of time we may expect to find recent cases of the same trouble.

On the 26th day of October Dr. Rose made the following report:

I visited Dreibelbis, Berks County, Pa., to-day, to consult Dr. P. K. Dreibelbis about the reported outbreak of aphtha in said county. We visited a few herds, where he had treated the disease, but all affected cattle had recovered. He claims to have treated about eighty cases in Berks County, and has not lost a single case. He saw no foot trouble among them, and could not say that all of them had mouth lesions, for he has been too busy to examine every animal. The trouble originated here about one month ago, and seems to have subsided for a time. Dr. Dreibelbis claims to have noticed an internal temperature of many cases which registered no higher than 103° F. Will return to other parts of Berks County next Tuesday and try to find recent cases of said trouble.

After a more thorough investigation as to the cause and extent of the disease, Dr. Rose forwarded the following report, dated November 1, 1889:

I have succeeded at last in finding very recent outbreaks of disease among cattle in Berks and Lehigh counties, Pa., which some of the veterinarians have pronounced contagious foot-and-mouth-disease. I can not agree with them, however, nor can I give you the correct cause of the epidemic. I have failed to trace contagion from one herd to another, although the majority of cattle owners in these two counties have purchased one or two animals at sales that were shipped from the Buffalo drove-yards. Some of them were gathered from farms in Steuben County, N. Y., by dealers and sold at Virginsville, Berks County, and Steinsville, Lehigh County, Pa., last August, and the farmers are of the opinion that these animals brought the disease, because the trouble originated here at Steinsville on September 30 last, in a herd of cows (four head) belonging to Albert Christ. Mr. Christ claims that his cows were exposed to a sick ox last August which was purchased at the sale. All of his cows were taken sick on or about September 30. One of them died and three recovered. (From reliable information I am led to believe that this animal died from the effects of heroic treatment, which set up enteritis.)

The ox was not exposed (directly) to these cows; was simply driven past the premises where Christ's cattle were pastured en route to another farm, and placed in a large herd on the premises of a distant neighbor, where it died soon after its arrival. None of the exposed cattle where the ox died have assumed any sickness up to date, fully two months after its death. Since Christ's four cows were taken sick other herds have developed the same trouble. Some herds have assumed the same trouble without exposure to the disease unless it is volatile, for it has shown itself rarely where no animals have been purchased during the past six months and the water courses have run from the healthy cattle towards the affected animals. However, most of the affected herds have one or two new arrivals from Buffalo on the premises which were there one or two months before any sickness appeared. Strange to say these new comers in most instances remain insusceptible to the disease until the latter part of the outbreak.

There have been fully two hundred cases of this trouble in these two counties, and it still exists in all parts. It is mild in character and needs very little treatment to bring the animals back to health. Some cases have relapse and linger a long time, yet the mortality is very slight. I find all of this affection in the low lands of both counties, under high hills where vegetation is rank. Running streams have constantly passed over the meadow lands where decaying grasses and plants have developed noxious properties. The farmers in this whole section of country have raised considerable rye this season, and in most instances the cattle have fed from the rye stubble, which contains more or less ergot. In fact, every owner of affected cattle will admit that he fed animals in the rye fields prior to their illness. This theory will not hold out in all cases, however, for some of the cattle were only two days in such fields; but most of them had from one to six weeks feeding of rye stubble. Then, too, the symptoms do not warrant ergotism in its true sense. There is no gangrene of extremities, either dry or moist, but the following symptoms give indications of a febrile disease: The internal temperature of each case varies from 102° to 103°F. In most cases the temperature will not exceed 104°F. Constipation prevails in most cases with dark fæces, almost black in color, and ball shaped. Diminished lacteal secretion in most cases, and spasmodic raising of posterior extremities towards the udder in some bad cases. I have found no foot lesions in any case, and the universal appearance of affected animals can be described as follows:

Most of the cattle in some herds have roseola of all four teats; external surface of upper lip and the Schneiderian membrane without a similar condition of membrane of fauces and tongue. No vesicles are found in the latter regions; simple bright red patches similar to what you would observe when irritants have been taken into the mouth. After a short time a vesicle forms on the external surface of upper lip fully 1 inch in diameter, which soon ruptures, leaving a very thin, raw surface, entirely different from the characteristic vesicle of foot-and-mouth disease. I have seen no vesicles in the mouth, and I have examined fifty animals in this region. The teats, however, change from vesication to rupture, leaving a corrugated surface which slowly desquamates unless pulled off in mass by attendant. If the animal continues to improve the redness of all parts passes off, except the eschars on teats, which resume a dark red color. I have found one cow in a few herds with no other indications than the reddened teats. These recovered two months ago, and no other animals in said herds have shown any illness up to date. Occasionally I found a few cows in some herds with reddened and swollen appearance of